Toki ni Sokora Musubitsuita Yurushite
by Runyariel Tindomerillin
Summary: After the battle with Gatenmaru, Inu Yasha is left doubting himself and Kagome. And of course, she has to leave to take a test at this most inopportune time. What would happen if she doesn't return? What would happen if Naraku decides to take advantage


_Toki ni Sokora Musubitsuita Yurushite_

_**(Let Us Join Together Somewhere in Time)**_

**An Inu Yasha Epic**

_By: Runyariel Tindomerillin_

**I in no way, shape or form, have any legal rights to Inu Yasha (Damn! Damn! Double Damn!). Inu Yasha, all related characters, and the manga/anime belong to that wonderful, creative goddess, Rumiko Takahashi. May she always be blessed for dreaming Inu Yasha up, and deciding to share…I DO however, own this rendition of the Inu Yasha saga. Woe unto he who attempts to plagiarize and/or steal anything I have here written (or typed), for he shall feel the sting of Runyariel's claws… All subject matter contained coincides with the Viz Graphic Novels and the Cartoon Network (still Viz) anime (up to ep. # 52). What can I say? I'm an American whose Japanese leaves much to be desired and who has no patience for subtitles (they detract from the experience for me), and I haven't yet found any other satisfying source. Oh well…This story takes place after ep. # 52, when Inu Yasha transformed and slaughtered the bandit gang along with the moth-demon Gatenmaru, but with the assumption that the following episode doesn't take place…Literary license, okay? **

**In addition to this, I would like to thank Jen Grier for translating the title for me because I wanted it to be a mesh of two song titles (_Somewhere In Time_ by Savatage and _Teo Torriate_ by Queen). Thanks are also in order for my betas, of which Jen is also one, Brent Martin and C. Wells, who put up with a good deal of scatter-brain tendencies on my part. Much love to you all! Now, to the reader, the addition of songs to my story is going to be a common thing, though it will seem strange most likely; however, I will explain the reason for this later into the plot. It should also be said that this is my very first stab at fanfiction, so feel free to offer suggests. I make no promises that I will take them, but I WILL appreciate them nonetheless.**

_Chapter 1: Troubled Partings_

**_Talk to me softly  
_**_**There's something in your eyes  
**__**Don't hang your head in sorrow  
**__**And please don't cry  
**__**I know how you feel inside I've  
**__**I've been there before  
**__**Something's changin' inside you baby  
**__**And don't you know**_

**_Don't you cry tonight  
_**_**I still love you baby  
**__**Don't you cry tonight  
**__**Don't you cry tonight  
**__**There's a heaven above you baby  
**__**And don't you cry tonight**_

**_Give me a whisper  
_**_**And give me a sigh  
**__**And give me a kiss before you tell me goodbye  
**__**Don't you take it so hard now  
**__**And please don't take it so bad  
**__**I'll still be thinking of you  
**__**And the times we had...baby**_

**_And don't you cry tonight  
_**_**I still love you baby  
**__**Don't you cry tonight  
**__**Don't you cry tonight  
**__**There's a heaven above you baby  
**__**And don't you cry tonight**_

**_And please remember that I never lied  
_**_**And please remember  
**__**How I felt inside now honey  
**__**You gotta make it your own way  
**__**But you'll be alright now sugar  
**__**You'll feel better tomorrow  
**__**Come the morning light now baby**_

**_And don't you cry tonight  
_**_**An don't you cry tonight  
**__**An don't you cry tonight  
**__**There's a heaven above you baby  
**__**Don't you cry  
**__**Don't you ever cry  
**__**And don't you cry  
**__**Tonight... (Don't Cry - Guns&Roses)**_

The sun danced lazily across the clearing, drenching the old well in splotches of rich brown and brilliant green, the wood appearing almost new from a distance. The vines draping its sides rustled in the wind, swaying in tune to the leaves of the trees overhead. Waves rolled in the late-summer high-grass, the breeze sweeping down the small hill toward the well, away from Kagome and Inu Yasha who sat perched on the knoll's slope, the wind toying with their hair and the flaps of her backpack between them.

_"Nature can be so deceptive at times,"_ Kagome mused inwardly, taking in the expanse of tranquility before her, _"you would almost think that everything's right with the world."_ She hugged her legs closer to ward off a sudden chill, rocking slightly, _"But it's not. It should be storming, with rain and lightning, booming thunder…not sunlight and a nice breeze. It's not fair. I shouldn't have to leave him; I shouldn't have to leave Inu Yasha, not after yesterday, not like this. It feels like I'm abandoning him; he'll think I'm running away."_ Peering over her knees, she glared at the well, silently cursing it to every horrible fate imaginable, willing it to collapse into the ground right there, so she wouldn't have to return to her time, at least for a little while. _"And all because of some stupid test! It's not like its life or death, or anything…maybe I could just skip it and stay here. What would it hurt to miss just one test? I have more important things to do here anyway, with the search for the Shikon shards and Naraku, and everyone is counting on me…Miroku, Sango, Shippo …Inu Yasha…"_

Her thoughts trailed off into a soft, doleful sigh, which was lost in the zephyr swelling around her, stirring her hair into a shimmering black waterfall of silk that cascaded fluidly over her shoulders. It rippled with a life of its own, restless against her stillness, flowing about her face in random array, like raven waves in the gentle wind. His ear twitched slightly, taking in her airy wisp of woe, the only sign that he paid her any mind. His snowy mane afforded him a billowing, pearlescent curtain to shield his golden, blazing eyes from her view, their burning glint masked by the gleam of the sun off the silvern strands.

Inu Yasha sat enthralled, his glowing gaze eerily intense, secretly drinking her in like a parched man. He was mesmerized by her, captivated beyond reason, and had been ever since they had set out from Kaede's village together, heading towards the old well in silence. Every sanguine sway of a tendril of hair against her cheek was a ballet of liquid ebony. Her flawless flesh, bathed in the radiance of the sun, was a gilded lily: delicate and precious beyond compare, too beautiful to touch yet begging for a lover's caress. Her eyes glittered like pools of obsidian, drinking in every ounce of brilliance around them; and her lips, pressed softly together, faintly slick from her pensively licking them, quivered slightly. They were tantalizing nearly beyond endurance, glistening in the light of day like luscious, ripe forbidden fruit. His mouth watered, his gaze riveted by the sun's sheen playing across her lips as it dappled through the leaves dancing about her. He swore she absorbed the day's warmth, that he felt it radiating off of her; so much so that it glowed beneath her skin . . . he could almost taste her…

Trembling slightly, Inu Yasha shook himself, trying to hide the movement from Kagome, not wanting to draw her attention. He squeezed his eyes tightly, shutting her out, concentrating on his frantic heartbeat pounding in his ears. The blood rushed through his body and his ragged breathing tore at his lungs, burning his vitals with each tortured gasp. He had never felt so lost, so confused, so _desperate_. The world was falling apart around him, the earth roiling and heaving beneath his feet, the sky raining down upon his head. Everything shifted and swayed, lurched and dipped with him floundering in the center of it all. Fear was a living, breathing, tangible thing; a merciless fist wrapped around his heart, a yawning, bottomless pit in his stomach, a chill fever in his blood. He was drowning; drowning in himself, being pulled under by the raw, swirling darkness devouring his soul…but he wasn't alone, at least not yet.

"_You're not alone, Inu Yasha…"_ She was there: Kagome. She'd said that before, told him she was with him, that he had her; she'd even come back to stay with him despite his resolve to avenge Kikyo, to do whatever necessary for her to find peace, to give her his life if he has to. Kagome, a single, wavering flame in the dark; one he felt would soon go out, leaving him in shadow, no matter her promises. She was the calm in the eye of the storm; she was solid ground, his anchor, his haven, his lifeline and she didn't even realize it. She didn't know the power she wielded, that she held him in her hands. He glanced at her, peering through the shivering locks of his wind-torn hair. She was compassion and light, purity and trust; and sitting there, with her chin on her knees, staring off into space while lost in her thoughts - so still with the wind in her midnight hair - she seemed a million miles away. She was so beautiful, it hurt; a vision of peace just out of his reach. It felt like she was slipping away, that at any moment Kagome would disappear, passing like water through his fingertips. How could he hope to hold moonlight in claws caked with blood?

Blood…its stench lingered, clinging in a noxious cloud like a vengeful wraith, a lasting remnant of his crimes. Its rancid rank had filled the air yesterday, twice as potent, twice as maddening, before settling into his unwavering companion. It lured them back to the village they had just left, the nauseating stink accented by the acrid smoke billowing in monstrous plumes in the distance. He and Miroku had left Sango and Kirara on the road to guard Kagome, Shippo, and the injured boy who had found them, rushing back to the besieged village. Bandits had set upon the town shortly after they had departed, and the damage had already been done by the time the duo arrived. The village was burning, the townsmen slaughtered, littering the hoof-tossed earth with their bodies and soaking it with their blood. The women were herded together into a trembling cluster, clutching and clinging to each other frantically, amid the pounding feet, the crackling flames, the leering, the cheering, the wailing, and the death rattles. And at the center of it all, Inu Yasha caught the scent of a demon hiding amongst the chaos, the foul odor mingling with the heavy stench of blood. The moth-youkai Gatenmaru revealed himself, masquerading as the bandits' human chief, breathing a mist of poison vapor that stung Inu Yasha's cheek, and carved his belly with a giant hatchet, leaving a deep, festering gash along Inu Yasha's abdomen. The Tetsusaiga was knocked away from him, and Miroku found his side just in time to conjure up a barrier to ward off the venomous cocoon that Gatenmaru wove around them, the cocoon that became their prison.

A fever began stirring within him, fueled by the venom coursing through him, the barrier shrinking around him, the fearful shrieks beating at him, and the blood. The smell was thick in his nostrils: bitter, sickening. And yet it was strangely heady, calling to the madness washing over him. He was helpless, trapped, paralyzed, chained, forced to endure the travesty unfolding around him: the death, the pleas, and the fear. He was cornered and he hated being cornered, being helpless, being _weak_. There was a swirling haze in his mind, a dizzying anger simmering in his veins, and the thin thread of sense - of sanity - was drawing taunt. All he could see was death, all he could smell was blood, all he could feel was burning, seething rage, and all he could hear were screams and the mocking laughter of that damn dirty demon! Then, a faint whiff of fragrance, herbs and sunlight, brushed by him, tinged with worry, with fear. "Where's Inu Yasha? Where? Is he here?" _Kagome's voice, Kagome's here…_ "Ah, a delectable looking woman. Bring her to me." _No, Kagome's _here. _Kagome's in danger! I must…protect Kagome…_ A shriek, taunting laughter… "INU YASHA!" _**FEAR!** Kagome's afraid! Gatenmaru wants her…**NO! THAT FUCKING BASE-BORN BASTARD WON'T HAVE HER! SHE'S MINE!**_

A deafening roar drowned out all thought, all sound, crashing through his head in a vicious wave. His blood boiled, rushing through his body like liquid lightening, his muscles on fire, screaming for battle. His skin pulsed, itching, and his claws were growing longer, thirsting for flesh; nothing coherent penetrated after that. There was the sweet perfume of blood enfolding him, laced with a delicious trace of fear. Wailing agony was a raucous symphony underscored by a lilting melody of death. The thrill of the hunt had him; the joy of the slaughter danced a grotesque waltz in his head, and he reveled in the pleasure of his claws sinking into hot, juicy flesh…

His muted, throaty gasp was swallowed in another surge of wind, stolen away before it could reveal its secrets to Kagome, still pensive and silent by his side. His claws were carving valleys in his palms, and the bile was threatening to choke him. _I liked it_; _I loved the blood gushing between my fingers. That's the true horror of yesterday, and the others don't even know it. Yeah, they saw me massacre the entire bandit gang and Gatenmaru besides, but they don't know what a rush it was, how much I enjoyed it, and that I remember that pleasure even now, when the details are a complete blank, when they think I was out of my mind, out of control. But she knows, Kagome knows, and now she's leaving because she's afraid of it, of me. I can smell it on her, the fear clinging to her despite how calm she is now._ He was unclean, his blood was dirty, and it didn't matter how hard he scrubbed, the stain would always be there. He had been told all his life he was a worthless, dirty half-breed, and for the first time he actually believed it. It was, after all, why he couldn't control the youkai blood flowing in his veins, his father's legacy, wasn't it?

Inu Yasha turned once more toward Kagome, needing the peace she gave him more than ever, but knowing soon that too would be lost to him. He felt it in his gut, had know it since last night when they had revealed to him the true nature of his transformation and its connection to Tetsusaiga. She was leaving and she wouldn't be back. He was going to lose her, and there wasn't anything he could do. He couldn't ask her to stay - couldn't force her to either - not when the danger was from him; not when he could very well devour her and not be able to stop himself, not want to stop himself. He couldn't allow her to stay and know that she would die because of him, and that he would relish stealing her last breath - even if it wouldn't really be him - and he wouldn't survive her death. Kagome's death would destroy him, where Kikyo's did not; Kagome's death would bring him to his knees, would be the one thing that finally broke him, and he knew it to the depths of his soul.

He followed the line of her throat to the delicate curve of her jaw, her profile etched in sunlight, framed by the flow of her black tresses in the breeze. He wanted to take as much of her in as possible, remember everything about these last moments with her before she was gone for good.

Kagome turned away from the well, unknowingly obstructing Inu Yasha's view of her; he growled softly. Her knee pressing into her cheek muffled her sigh of disgust. She just couldn't stand to look at _that thing_ any longer. The grass lightly brushed her shoe as she gazed down at it, musingly. _And since when are your tests stupid, Kagome? They've always been important before. Sheesh, you're starting to sound like Inu Yasha; next thing you know you'll be completely refusing to leave his side of the well; that or just start screaming at anything that moves and doesn't have a jewel shard. _For some reason, the idea struck her as humorous and she found herself smiling just a little. _Wow, you really have changed Kagome, if Inu Yasha's temper doesn't even bother you that much anymore. And that crack about skipping the history test. . ._

"If you're leaving, just go already." _Better that, than sitting here prolonging my torment. _"Don't worry about saying goodbye."

Her head swung up in surprise, momentarily taken aback by his voice, its tone. He didn't even sound like himself; the ever-present belligerence he used to hide behind was strained, an attempt out of habit. He didn't sound hostile like usual, he sounded tired, defeated. Worse, he sounded half-dead, and his words were so final. _Is he giving up on me? _"Inu Yasha..."

"I mean it, Kagome. It's for the best anyway."

"But I'm coming back, Inu Yasha," she whispered, lightly grasping his arm, just to have him fling her hand back at her.

"DON'T YOU LIE TO ME!" he spit into her face, sounding much more like himself. "I CAN SMELL THE FEAR ROLLING OFF OF YOU! YOU'RE FUCKING DRIPPING WITH IT!" Inu Yasha dug his claws into the dirt to keep from shaking her or pulling her to him and never letting go.

Kagome sprang to her feet, all the better to glare at him. Her shadow wavered in his dancing locks, and swam in his defiant, desperate eyes. "I'M NOT LYING! I'D **NEVER** LIE TO YOU AND YOU KNOW IT! AND I'M NOT SCARED **OF** YOU, I'M SCARED **FOR** YOU! DID YOU EVEN THINK OF THAT! I COULD LOSE YOU!" Her voice broke on a sob, all the tension finally coming to a head. Her fists were clenched so tight, she was sure that she was bleeding, but she didn't care; couldn't care, and was beyond caring. All that mattered was that she got it out - got it all out - all the fears that had been eating her from the inside since the day before. She just couldn't hold it in any longer. "I MAY HAVE TO WATCH YOU BE DESTROYED BY THE YOUKAI BLOOD IN YOU! AND THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT! AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIX IT! AND I'M AFRAID THAT AFTER EVERYTHING, **EVERYTHING** WE'VE BEEN THROUGH, YOU'RE GOING TO PUSH ME AWAY AGAIN! **_AND I CAN'T TAKE IT! I CAN'T!_**"

Kagome froze, her eyes widening impossibly, a lone tear escaping down her cheek. _Did... I... just... say that?_ Her hands flew to her mouth, as if to somehow forcibly recall the words, or to erase them by hiding the lips that spoke them. Her heart was thundering against her ribs, her chest heaving with the strength and magnitude of her outburst.

She fell to her knees in front of Inu Yasha, who appeared just as shaken as she was. His eyes were large and glassy, and appeared to be caught between confusion and desperation. His breaths were quick, and ragged, and he was visibly trembling now, just as she knew she was. "...I..." she reached out and grasped his hand, squeezing tightly, drawing the strength from him to force words from her throat. Her blood trickled down her fingers into his palm, melding with his unbeknownst to her. "I WILL come back Inu Yasha; I won't leave you! I promise!"

Frantically, his eyes searched her face, and then darted down to their joined hands. "You're...you're bleeding!" he softly murmured, flipping her hand over to rest in his palm, masking his own wounds. He lightly traced the outline of a crimson half-moon, careful not to scratch her with his claws.

He glanced up, his eyes burning unchecked into hers, searing her with an understanding that was deep and frightening in its intensity; as if he knew her agony, and knew it all too well. "Kagome..." he whispered, ripping a long strip from his under kimono in order to bind both her hands.

"I'm coming back; tomorrow," she uttered just as softly, afraid to speak any louder. She didn't want to disturb this stolen moment, this brief connection, this tenuous unity, which seemed strangely volatile; charged with too many converging emotions to sift through. "Right after school lets out; I'll be back before sunset, and then we can work this out together. We can figure out what to do next."

"Be careful!" he urged, tying the last knot on her other hand. His hands continued to fiddle with the bandage, as his eyes seemed to glow brighter - more intense - and fiercely ardent. She felt her cheeks heat; she couldn't look away from his eyes and he had never glanced away from hers, staring at her the entire time he wrapped her cuts. _His eyes are so beautiful...but why is he so...panicked?_

"But, there's nothing to..."

"I MEAN IT, KAGOME!" he was now squeezing her hand, pressing it between his exigently. She swore his eyes sparked. "There ARE demons over there on your side, remember the Noh mask?" _And I just can't shake this feeling that you're not coming back_... "And taking the shards with you will only draw out more demons."

"You're worried..." she whispered in wonder.

"You're fucking right I'm worried! Take your bow with you."

"But I didn't bring it..." Suddenly he leapt off in the direction of the Sacred Tree, bounding back into sight a few seconds later, carrying her bow in one hand and with her quiver of arrows thrown over his shoulder. She got to her feet, slinging her backpack over her shoulders, slightly bemused by him. "Wh..."

"Here, take them and don't go ANYWHERE without them."

"Um, I can't take them with me to school, Inu Yasha."

"Just pack them in your bag, okay? You could stuff a tree in there and no one would notice. I'm serious: do-not-leave-them."

"Alright, alright! I won't; I'll have them with me at all times," she whispered soothingly, trying to calm his fears. Taking the bow and fitting the quiver over her arm, since her bag was too stuffed to allow anymore on her shoulders, she turned to begin walking down the small hill. Inu Yasha reached out before he knew what he was doing, grabbing her shoulders to spin her back around and hold her in place. She gasped in surprise. "Inu..."

"Right here! Nowhere else! As soon as you're finished!" he began to lightly shake her. All she could do was nod; she couldn't even think to form a sentence. His words were manic, his face frantic. "And if you sense anything, anything at all, you come here! You run as fast as you can, drop everything, and you get me! You got that!"

"Yes," Kagome whispered so softly, she wasn't even sure he heard her, until his shaking of her stopped. She could feel his arms trembling violently, his hands flexing on her shoulders. His eyes bored into hers, scorching through her, setting her heart to pounding again. _Now he's scaring me; what has him so spooked? I said I'd be back, and I can handle whatever's in my time; plus there haven't been any problems over there since the Noh mask. I try not to keep the jewel shards over there for any length of time for that reason. _Her heart skipped a beat as she felt his arms pull her forward. She landed against him, unable to steady herself or push away due to the cumbersome weight of her bag and her arrows on her arm. _Is he...going to...hug me?_ His arms snaked around her - despite her backpack - his right hand resting on the back of her head, buried in her hair while holding her against his shoulder. His face burrowed into the side of her neck with a whimper so tiny, she couldn't be sure she heard it. _Oh...My...HE'S SHAKING! _"I..nu...ya...sha...?"

"Tell me you'll be back, that you'll be careful and do everything I said. Promise me! I need to hear you say it..." he breathed into her ear – pleadingly - sounding broken. Her heart resounded in her head, her lungs aching with the need to breathe. _What should I do? OH GOD, what should I do! I can't leave him like this! I CAN'T! But I have to, I HAVE to..._ She felt tears forming behind her eyelids, her stomach rebelling at abandoning him, ditching him when he so obviously was hurting and in need of her. Her hand clenched around her bow. "I promise you I'll come back! I won't let anything happen to me: I swear it!"

With that, she pushed away from him as best she could, slightly relieved that he let her go, and began running to the well for all she was worth. If she stopped and turned back to even glance at him, she'd lose her nerve and wouldn't be able to leave; she knew it. She vaulted over the side of the well, shouting, "Tomorrow, before sunset!" as she disappeared, not daring to interrupt her momentum even slightly to issue a proper goodbye.

Inu Yasha stared after her, leaning morosely against a tree, slumped over. He glanced down at his palm, where their conjoined blood lay drying in the afternoon shade. The wind rustled his hair, sending an ominous chill down his back. _You're a part of me, Kagome._ He skimmed his thumb over one of the self-made gouges, which had already ceased bleeding. _I need you. Come back, Kagome, please come back!_


End file.
